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Maybe I didn't search hard enough; thought I would have found a topic on this. So I apologize in advance if I'm digging up a topic that's already been debated on.

 

What's the current verdict on custom weaponry that cannot be currently obtainable through normal gameplay means? As long as its feasible within the universe, makes sense for the character background supplied, and not insanely overpowered; would it be acceptable? I'm talking about stuff like unobtainable swords like Aldis' Frenzy with their own unique backgrounds, rarer forms of weaponry like gunblades, tools or crafts that are not usually brought to battle as weaponry like scythes, and even some sort of fusion between the two weapons creating something truly unique within the realm. While players at the moment cannot utilize them in gameplay, they do exist in the universe in some form or are at the very least somewhat plausible given the proper explanation much like the male miqote situation(well the odds of a "gunscythe" is probably the least likely xD but it can be built if someone in the empire's got the skill and resources to do so). 

 

I would however imagine based on how unique the weapon is, it could be lacking in action trait support compared to the established classes. To me, there's nothing physically prevented someone from holding a baghnakhs('side from gameplay mechanics), but only a trained Pugilist can pull off Bootshine combos. And with the most likely lack of a guild support for said weapon, you'd either have to be one rare individual to be taken under the wing of a teacher who has not yet founded a guild or you'd be struggling to try and develop your own style. Both paths probably won't produce the quantity of skills housed by the established classes. The wielder for the most part would be very much reliant on their pure physical ability and shock factor of wielding their unorthodox weapon choice versus utilizing tried and true techniques that have been passed down for generations.

 

Mechanics aside, how would one go about using a custom weapon in RP? Yeah they wouldn't show up in-game and wouldn't be able to be utilized in pvp type RP scenarios, but chances are if someone noticed it on their person it would really be the most distinctive thing on the character. Aldis being the example yet again, as one look at his unique blade was enough to talk a rowdy Roegadyn out of a fight. Although Aldis has the advantage of having his custom blade actually being modeled in game, so would an RPC simply have to reference their sheathed weapon from time to time so it doesn't suddenly pop out of thin air when the time comes?

 

Ultimately, is it a direction that can welcomed or should it be avoided like the plague in favor for sticking with whats in game?

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As far as I'm concerned, thi goes into the same category as the whole custom race or half-this and half-that thing.

 

First, why? Why is the character using such a weapon? Does it really add to the character or is it just "because it's cool?" If it's the latter, I'm not gonna like it. If it's the former, no problem.

 

 

As a side-note a gun-scythe is pretty easy. Add a scythe blade to a long rifle like a bayonet and voilà!

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I see no problem with it if it isn't being done to godmod, etc. Your character, you can play how you like so as long as you don't impede upon others. I think that is something that is best for people to keep in mind when it comes to these things. The game does have a lot of weaponry however, and I don't see much of a problem of using something like a scythe or say daggers. Everything in moderation when it comes down to it, just make sure you're enjoying yourself while doing so. :)

 

As for how to do it, I would say best to write it out in a nice description when needed. Besides we craft weapons as it is, if you would like a certain style of blade that isn't in the game I see no problem with it.

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Does it really add to the character or is it just "because it's cool?"

 

"Because it's cool" is a 100% perfectly valid reason to do something! Twin and I definitely had that thought when we were deciding what kind of bug to use for our latest nightmare construct creation in TERA roleplay. "We've done wasps and termites and flies. Oooh let's make it a swamp creature. Ooooh mosquitos are in swamps! And LEECHES! Yes! Blood magic via mosquito muwahahaha. This is awesome!"

 

^Totally our thought process yup. Legit. *sagenod*

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Ultimately, is it a direction that can welcomed or should it be avoided like the plague in favor for sticking with whats in game?

 

So... you can of course do whatever you like in RP, but when you start adding elements to your character that aren't visible in game, you run into issues with depiction. Just as those with weird accents have to consistently type them out (or reference them in emotes), you'll have to spend a fair amount of time describing this new weapon to everyone you meet and even probably to those you RP with regularly, as it's not what they see on their screen and is therefore easy to forget. Also, you need to have an IC explanation for the existence of the weapon, how you learned to use it, and how it was made. All that takes work and requires a pretty strong commitment to consistency.

 

To echo Asyria's point, you need to consider what this buys you narratively. Any time you deviate from "normal" as defined in lore, it should be with an eye to improving your story and other's, IMO. When you deviate in a way that's an imposition on other players -- as it is in this case, since they'll have to remember that you have a signature weapon that isn't what they see on screen -- you should have a really good reason for it so as not to come off as a "special snowflake." What does the weapon say about your character, his past, and his future? What story hooks does it create or develop? How does it fit into the larger lore and setting? For something like this, I don't personally feel that "because it's cool and makes me unique" is a strong enough narrative justification, especially since there's all sorts of cool things that already exist in game, and you can achieve uniqueness in other, more narratively solid ways. :)

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"It's cool!" is a perfectly valid reason for physical aesthetic choices, mostly because they don't ussually give anything to your character but flavor. Things like scars, tattoos, jewelry, skin marks, etcetera. This could apply to weapons: maybe your blade has an odd shape or something.

However, every time you pick a 'trait' or 'asset' that is not superted by the game (like, say, having your character's head completely bandaged, or having a flintock) you have to be constantly reminding people about it, or at the very least every time someone joins the scene.

 

On the specific subject of weapons, you have to consider what the weapon brings on the table both from a characterization/storyline point, as people have mentioned before me. But you also have to consider what, if any, power it will give the wielder, how powerful that is and then balance your character accordingly: if the weapon is too powerful or exotic, then you'll have to give your character some very glaring weaknesses to compensate.

 

And, no, being 'an introverted and agressive loner' is not a weakness. :P

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I have a question will there be some sort of appearance changer meaning I have Sword X but I made it look like Sword Z?

 

GW2 and WoW I thought had excellent systems for this. Has anything like this been announced or talked about?

 

If there is such a thing in the game then I would say that doing it cause its cool is very very valid. Though I would try to stay away from claiming items that don't yet exist that are impactful to the lore of the series. Having a special watch though is different as something as obvious as a blade which impacts something in the game directly.

 

I will say this though find the most badass item that is in the game that represents what you want and go with it. Or name one of your weapons, named weapons are always cool and can be just such and such actual sword from the game. Naming it will give it a special flair in rp.

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One of the major issues that arises when role-players deviate from what their character model, armour and weaponry looks like to an outsider is that it can quite quickly break someone else's immersion or simply leave a bad taste in their mouths. If I have Theodric break the ice by commenting on another character's lance or axe then it'd feel very contrived and awkward to be expected to suddenly assume that it's a broadsword instead. It may seem minor to some people, but a smooth experience is essential for role-play to prosper.

 

It's better to set aside the infamous 'rule of cool' and just work with what we have at our fingertips, else we end up going down the shady path of seeing people try to justify anything and everything under the sun as has been the case in other MMO's that I've role-played in. In turn, this often serves to alienate quite a few role-players from interacting with people outside of their immediate social circle.

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Well you're going to get a lot of nay-saying because people don't like anyone shaking things up. My response: Fuck 'em. Do what you want with your character. Eko lived twenty-some years of his life with his teeth, his fists, his nails, and a stone knife. (I won't get into it now. Think Tarzan.) I have to RP that as a pugilist because this game can't give us a decent knife class to save its life. But you can be damn sure when my avatar is doing slow kung-fu style one-inch punches, I'm imagining him stabbing and biting his way to victory. 

 

Another example I can think of is Shuck. He RPs all of his crazy shield lobbing and flashing as inventions rather than magic or anything, because that's who his character is. He's an engineer, not a wizard. He only had to explain his inventions to me one time each and I still remember all of them. So don't listen to people who say it'll be a hassle for the RPC as a whole to deal with.

 

If you tell me you have a gun-scythe, I promise you I will remember and respect your choice to use a gun-scythe (despite the fact that imo a farming tool on a gun does more harm than good. Either way, not my decision.)

 

You paid the money for this game, you put the thought and effort in to make your character. You do whatever the hell you want with it. You shouldn't have to conform to people who don't have the imagination to simply picture you with a different weapon. 

 

Also, "because it's cool" is the only reason to do anything in this game. It's a pretend world. Why would you want to be lame?

 

Disclaimer: That's not an excuse to god-mode or meta-game or anything weird.

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Of course a player can do whatever they want with a character. The question is not can they, but should they?

 

Ultimately, though, it comes down to the effects on other players and how that impacts your RP. Beyond having to tell everyone you meet once (and possibly more than once!) that your pugilist arms are actually knives, or that the lance on your back is actually a broadsword, or what have you, deviations like that cause OOC issues. Players who hew extremely strictly to lore will say, "No one gets to use broadswords, so you're violating lore, and we're done" -- or "I'm sorry, but that is a lance. Are you touched?" Players who comment on how cool your gloves are have to be corrected OOCly and a brief retcon performed. New RPers won't know what to make of all of this and may just say it's too hard to get involved in RP with you. All of these little things add up, and there's a real risk of being segregated from the rest of the RP community because of them. Whether that matters to a player is up to them to decide.

 

Also, I'm not sure where you get this idea that there are "people who don't have the imagination to simply picture you with a different weapon". The issue isn't that people don't have the imagination to do that. The issue is that there are real problems that occur in RP when you RP something that isn't how you actually appear in game. IMO, unless you're getting something just extraordinary out of it narratively, there's no reason to do it.

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I personally wouldn't have much of a problem if someone described their weapon as an unusual one. Other than my fish memory, I mean, but that can be fixed by a mere reminder.

 

I think it's interesting to see what people come up with, and using an unusual weapon is not exactly lore breaking. So long as the player has fun and everyone gets to RP, why not? ^^

 

Just my two cents!

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I find giving weapons personalities a bit more easier to process than actual physical alterations. Swyrbhrat for example isn't really emphasizing physical appearance of the weapon but he does give his axe an identity and talks to "her" from time to time which may provoke odd stares but like other players that have egi / fairies to interact with, why not a weapon.

"Faithful Grymgohta is a harsh mistress, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

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Of course a player can do whatever they want with a character. The question is not can they, but should they?

 

Yes, they should. If they want to. Because it's their character and no one should be telling them what they are and are not allowed to pretend.

 

If, hypothetically, I'm playing a warrior and I say "((Hey everyone, I know warriors have axes, but my character is a swordsman so I'll be RPing I have a broadsword.))" and someone responds with "((No. That's a violation of the lore. You have an axe because you're a warrior and no one has broadswords.))" I'll probably dismiss them as a pompous ass. Lore is great, but no one should be able to tell you what your character has and doesn't have.

 

Let's move to the pugilist glove scenario you mentioned. Someone would never come up to me and say "cool gloves", because like I mentioned earlier, Eko fights bare-handed mostly or with a knife. My weapons aren't shown when sheathed. That's meta-gaming. If they said it after a fight, (My sheathe speed is 1 second, not the average 3, thanks to some simple character options.) I would kindly say "((Eko isn't using gloves right now.))" If they threw a fit about it, that's their problem.

 

I think it's ridiculous to discourage RP weapon exchange when we have people in this community with magitek robot arms and no one bats an eye (No offense if you're reading this.). If anyone is that concerned about what weapons someone is RPing vs. what weapons their character is using, they need to calm down. It's not a big deal. At all. It's not a question of can you complain, it's a question of should you complain.

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One of the major issues that arises when role-players deviate from what their character model, armour and weaponry looks like to an outsider is that it can quite quickly break someone else's immersion or simply leave a bad taste in their mouths. If I have Theodric break the ice by commenting on another character's lance or axe then it'd feel very contrived and awkward to be expected to suddenly assume that it's a broadsword instead.

 

This would be my reasoning for not doing it myself. "Hey, Joe. Nice sword." "((Actually, it's a ratflail.))" "((Oh, crap. Sorry.))"

 

That being said, it doesn't really bug me at all. I'm perfectly happy to just go with it and be reminded of the ratflail whenever I forget.

 

Also, I agree with the line of thought regarding names and personalities for weapons instead. Like Zaeed's good ol' Jessie. She was a crappy, busted up, piece of junk weapon, but even so, I've certainly never forgotten her.

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I think it's ridiculous to discourage RP weapon exchange when we have people in this community with magitek robot arms and no one bats an eye (No offense if you're reading this.). If anyone is that concerned about what weapons someone is RPing vs. what weapons their character is using, they need to calm down. It's not a big deal. At all. It's not a question of can you complain, it's a question of should you complain.

 

I'd argue that this question should be applied to anything in a character: yes, you can give your character exotic or not-in-game weapons, but should you? It's all a matter of what it gives the character from a storytelling perspective.

For example, I do see the storytelling value of a pugilist that fights completely unarmed: it's an statement of his martial expertise, or maybe he dislikes to kill. However, a marauder that uses a broadsword would need a different justification.

 

With that said, I do agree that stopping roleplay because of this is quite silly. Weapon choice is essentially flavor and, as long as it stays like flavor, I don't think complains or interruptions would be justified.

On the other hand, giving your character something that cannot be despicted in game without a good reason is sillier.

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I'd argue that this question should be applied to anything in a character: yes, you can give your character exotic or not-in-game weapons, but should you? It's all a matter of what it gives the character from a storytelling perspective.

For example, I do see the storytelling value of a pugilist that fights completely unarmed: it's an statement of his martial expertise, or maybe he dislikes to kill. However, a marauder that uses a broadsword would need a different justification.

 

With that said, I do agree that stopping roleplay because of this is quite silly. Weapon choice is essentially flavor and, as long as it stays like flavor, I don't think complains or interruptions would be justified.

On the other hand, giving your character something that cannot be despicted in game without a good reason is sillier.

 

I can agree to this. This is fair.

 

Whatever weapon you have should have some reasoning behind it. I said earlier "Because it's cool" is a valid reason, but allow me to rephrase:

 

If you want a different weapon because it's cool, that's fine, as long as you justify it somehow.

 

I think having bare fists and maybe a knife is cool as shit. But it also makes sense to the character. Then again, I designed the character based on what I thought was cool, but I'm not going to get into circular logic here.

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I think it's ridiculous to discourage RP weapon exchange when we have people in this community with magitek robot arms and no one bats an eye (No offense if you're reading this.). If anyone is that concerned about what weapons someone is RPing vs. what weapons their character is using, they need to calm down. It's not a big deal. At all. It's not a question of can you complain, it's a question of should you complain.

 

Who's complaining? The OP asked for opinions, and they've been given. (For what it's worth, I do bat an eye at the magitek robot arms, but again, it's not my character; he can do what he likes.)

 

At any rate, if you want to say your weapon X is actually Y (or no weapon at all) in RP with me, then that's how it is, and I'm fine with running with that. :) I RPed semi-regularly with a guy in EQ who had a clockwork mechanical arm, and we had a ball. In CoH, we had people explain kinetic energy blasts (which were blue in game and did bashing damage) as blasts of water, as there were no water powers in game. In practice, I think most people will chalk it up to "flavor" and run with it.

 

However, there are real downsides to playing something that's not how you appear, from the likely and minimal ("What's that weapon so-and-so uses again instead of a lance?" and "Cool lance!" -- "((That's not a lance.))") to the unlikely but incredibly obnoxious ("No, truly, that is a sword. Perhaps you should seek the services of a Conjurer for your mental illness?"). If you want to do it, fine, just be aware of the potential downside and how it impacts your RP, and at least consider that there are other ways to achieve many common narrative goals (such as being cool and unique) that don't require as much work and don't have those downsides.

 

I think in practice, the biggest downside is having to repeatedly tell people about the difference, just as those with odd voices or accents for their character have to do the same. However, there will always be people who are going to not be fine with it for whatever reason, and you will lose access to RPing with them. Whether that matters to a player or not is up to them.

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I often encourage role-players to invest in giving their character's weapon or armour a background story instead of making it into something that can't really be depicted very well due to the various restrictions put into place. Perhaps one's character inherited their shield as a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation? Maybe they simply found their lance when clearing out a den of monsters or thieves and kept it for themselves? 

 

It's the sort of thing that can be done in role-play itself too - I've often had my character obtain a new weapon from time to time as part of their ongoing story. It can make for some pretty compelling role-play if your character ends up losing a precious weapon and is forced to either reclaim it or even obtain a new one.

 

Some people may disagree, but I find the above scenarios far more interesting than giving my character a weapon that can't really be portrayed with the numerous weapons available to us in the game itself. A character doesn't need to be artificially complex to be intriguing.

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I think in practice, the biggest downside is having to repeatedly tell people about the difference, just as those with odd voices or accents for their character have to do the same. However, there will always be people who are going to not be fine with it for whatever reason, and you will lose access to RPing with them. Whether that matters to a player or not is up to them.

 

I feel like if you have to impress someone to win their RP approval, you should find a different crowd. All I'm saying is, if you don't mind telling someone "((Hey this isn't an axe))" or whatever, you should have every right to go for it. Anyone who gets insanely upset about it isn't worth RPing with. Hell, in Misericorde, we bring up RP inventions constantly to explain things, or just for fun. And it's a blast. If someone were to try and put the kabbash on that because it "takes them out of the game" I'd be livid. This is what's fun for us. Gun-scythes might be fun for OP. Who am I to say "no" to that? 

 

I do think some justification is fair though. For instance, why does Eko fight using his bare hands and a knife? Because he was born on a jungle island unknown to the rest of Hydaelyn and that's what he was raised doing and what he's most comfortable with. That's just playing by the rules. You should be free to do whatever you want, but if someone asks you should have reasoning behind it. That's my thoughts anyway.

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From my understanding all Arcanist's weapons are custom as the geometries contained within the tome were likely inscribed by the Arcanist who owns the tome, even if they were all copied wholesale from another tome(s), the particular order is likely to be unique to that one tome.  For other weapons I'm on the fence-as long as its not to out there(read gun-anything, buster swords, etc) then I don't have a huge issue with it.  If its something as similar as saying theres a scratch from this or that then thats totally fine.

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I feel like if you have to impress someone to win their RP approval, you should find a different crowd. All I'm saying is, if you don't mind telling someone "((Hey this isn't an axe))" or whatever, you should have every right to go for it. Anyone who gets insanely upset about it isn't worth RPing with.

 

(...snip...)

 

I do think some justification is fair though. For instance, why does Eko fight using his bare hands and a knife? Because he was born on a jungle island unknown to the rest of Hydaelyn and that's what he was raised doing and what he's most comfortable with. That's just playing by the rules. You should be free to do whatever you want, but if someone asks you should have reasoning behind it. That's my thoughts anyway.

 

I think we agree, actually. There's a cost associated with going away from the "norm" (with regards to lore, mechanics, appearance, or what have you) -- in this case, realistically, the major cost is just having to ensure that you weave information about your variant weapon into your RP so that people know it's there and can react accordingly. But, of course, everyone has a varying level of acceptance of things that are different, and that's where you can get the snippiness, claims of "Mary Sue" or "special snowflake," or people just refusing to RP with you. That's a cost, too, although perhaps not a fair one. My point's just that, since there's a cost, you should make sure that, in your mind, the narrative benefits (to you and others) outweigh the costs. Not everyone's aware of these costs, which is why I bring them up. :)

 

Is the cost for a custom weapon all that high? No, probably not. Personally, though, I think custom weapons that don't elucidate backstory, don't bring out elements of a character, or don't strike up interesting RP don't outweigh the costs; the narrative benefits are too low. IMO, if the whole purpose is to make your character look cool and unique, there's ways to do it that don't incur costs at all, and I think people should evaluate those first. Sometimes, though, you have to accept the higher cost to do what you want with the character, and that's fine too, as long as you know what you're getting into.

 

All that aside, yes, definitely, if you choose to do this -- indeed, if you choose to deviate from the norm in any circumstance -- you definitely need to have an explanation for it that meshes with lore, if nothing else so you can use it in RP. :)

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Well I certainly took my time on this post, but really thanks everyone. I'm loving all of these various view points you've all got here. It really gives me a good idea on the state of affairs here. :)

 

Though I should say bout the Scythe bit . . . that was more of a pure example of the potential kinds of unorthodox weaponry rather than a hint of what I'd like to use. Its tool I'd think that's very feasible to exists in this timeline despite we've yet to see one in game(or least I've yet to see anyone tending the fields, period). Its simply not often weaponized by traveling adventurers, though not too much is stopping a capable adventure from trying to do so.

 

But to get a little more personal: I designed my character from the beginning to be a specialist in greatswords, even though said class isn't available as of yet. Greatswords have always been my weapon of choice in RPGs when it has been available as they tend bear the Mighty Glacier playstyle I prefer. And while I may be largely unfamiliar with Final Fantasy as a whole, I do believe it's only a matter of time before a my sought after class arrives that efficiently wields such a massive blade. Probably months and months away, but it will surely come if what I've researched on XI is any foretelling of what Square is willing to do on the MMO side of things. Till then, my character isn't above utilizing other tools outside his accustomed proficiency to get the job done(dabbling into the other classes like the pugilist). So that way I can still play the current classes and it won't suddenly be awkward or OOC. But now I look back and realize a slight issue. 

 

Assume the day does that a greatsword guild is founded and begins to accept members. Why after months of mastering/experiencing numerous forms of combat would said character suddenly decide to not only join up but hold its craftsmanship above all of his previously honed and mastered skills? Especially when he usually refers to his other weaponry as mere tools for his work. Sure he'd pick it up to advance his combat knowledge, but I can't find motivation here as to why the greatsword would become his main focus of all of his combat skills instead of simply another tool for the job. I mean to me, when you call a certain weapon type your specialty above all others, there's usually some form of personal attachment or bonding to said weapon. Dubs little snippet is evident of that, surely he and his Grymgohta have been through alot together. And that would have to be before greatswords would ever see widespread usage among the adventurers of Eorzea. 

 

As I am nailing down the possibilities of how said blade is acquired, a Garlean origin for my greatsword seems likely as it would allow my character the earliest opportunity to acquire it. Which may or may not imply a gunblade modification to the weapon that I'm not too crazy about at all as honest as I can be. So you slapped a longsword onto a gun and called it technological superiority, goodie for you Garleans, I hardly see the marvel in it unless said weapon shares some real benefits from the fusion.  Regardless, taking to account with how much the Garlean Empire likes to marry firearms and blades, I'd find it somewhat difficult to justify why said greatsword would lack such a thing. I would probably limit the gun bit to being something with shorter range and slow like double barreled shotgun just to emphasize its melee proficiency over fire power. But if its possible to lack said attachment and make sense to be of Garlean craft, I'll happily take that route. And as I stated in the OP such a weapon would probably have very little action trait support and many other shortcomings due to its experimental nature.

 

More or less, I'm pretty much just poking around trying to determine whats acceptable in the community and what constitutes as overboard. I do think understand the difficulties But if it would be better for the community leaving the blade in the care of a retainer or restricting usage of it till the widespread release of greatswords; so be it. But I feel that the weapon needs at the very least to have an existence in the backstory. Alternatively my character does very well wield the existing weapons(swords, axes, baghnakhs, lances) along side with the custom greatsword, so it would certainly wouldn't bring about RP awkwardness if random bystander decided to comment on one of my other weaponry instead. I have little intent to attempt wield a different weapon type and pass it off as said greatsword as I would usually simply imagine in on his back along with his usual exsisting weaponry.

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Well I certainly took my time on this post, but really thanks everyone. I'm loving all of these various view points you've all got here. It really gives me a good idea on the state of affairs here. :)

 

Though I should say bout the Scythe bit . . . that was more of a pure example of the potential kinds of unorthodox weaponry rather than a hint of what I'd like to use. Its tool I'd think that's very feasible to exists in this timeline despite we've yet to see one in game(or least I've yet to see anyone tending the fields, period). Its simply not often weaponized by traveling adventurers, though not too much is stopping a capable adventure from trying to do so.

 

But to get a little more personal: I designed my character from the beginning to be a specialist in greatswords, even though said class isn't available as of yet. Greatswords have always been my weapon of choice in RPGs when it has been available as they tend bear the Mighty Glacier playstyle I prefer. And while I may be largely unfamiliar with Final Fantasy as a whole, I do believe it's only a matter of time before a my sought after class arrives that efficiently wields such a massive blade. Probably months and months away, but it will surely come if what I've researched on XI is any foretelling of what Square is willing to do on the MMO side of things. Till then, my character isn't above utilizing other tools outside his accustomed proficiency to get the job done(dabbling into the other classes like the pugilist). So that way I can still play the current classes and it won't suddenly be awkward or OOC. But now I look back and realize a slight issue. 

 

Assume the day does that a greatsword guild is founded and begins to accept members. Why after months of mastering/experiencing numerous forms of combat would said character suddenly decide to not only join up but hold its craftsmanship above all of his previously honed and mastered skills? Especially when he usually refers to his other weaponry as mere tools for his work. Sure he'd pick it up to advance his combat knowledge, but I can't find motivation here as to why the greatsword would become his main focus of all of his combat skills instead of simply another tool for the job. I mean to me, when you call a certain weapon type your specialty above all others, there's usually some form of personal attachment or bonding to said weapon. Dubs little snippet is evident of that, surely he and his Grymgohta have been through a lot together to share that kind of relationship. At least I'd think so. I want my character to have a much deeper appreciation for the blade over the rest of his gear, and the best way I believe said goal can be accomplished is for said sword to appear in his early life. Which would have to be before greatswords would ever see widespread usage among the adventurers of Eorzea and before my character would have easy access to the various weapon guilds. While I'm still narrowing down exact descriptive feelings beyond "the one true companion that has stuck with him through and through", the placement should at least lead to some reasoning as to why he would hold such a weapon in greater standing than his others.

 

As I am nailing down the possibilities of how said blade is acquired, a Garlean origin for my greatsword seems likely as it would allow my character the earliest opportunity to acquire it. Which may or may not imply a gunblade modification to the weapon that I mentioned earlier. And I'm not at all too crazy about that, as honest as I can be. So you slapped a longsword onto a gun and called it technological superiority, goodie for you Garleans, I hardly see the marvel in it at this moment.  Regardless, taking to account with how much the Garlean Empire likes to marry firearms and blades, I'd find it somewhat difficult to justify why said greatsword would lack such a thing. I would probably limit the gun bit to being something with shorter range and slow/not-spammable like a shotgun or a musket just to emphasize its melee proficiency over ranged fire power. But if its possible to lack said attachment and make sense to be of Garlean craft, I certainly wont mind taking that route for further balancing. And as I stated in the OP, such a weapon would probably have no action trait support and many other shortcomings due to its experimental nature.

 

More or less, I'm pretty much just poking around trying to determine whats acceptable in the community and what constitutes as overboard. I do think understand the difficulties as addressed as such, some I was aware of but there was some information that got me to think a little more. I have little issue of mentioning the blade from time to time as I am usually descriptive with actions, that large slab of steel is bound so clank around as he moves. I will probably attempt to design said weapon a simply shaped as possible so it so it wouldn't be so difficult to describe. I also have little intent to attempt wield a different weapon type and pass it off as said greatsword as I would usually simply imagine in on his back along with his usual existing in-game weaponry. If it would however be better for the community leaving the blade in the care of a retainer or restricting usage of it till the widespread release of greatswords; so be it. But I feel that the weapon needs at the very least to have an existence in the backstory. Alternatively, my character does very well wield the existing weapons(swords, axes, baghnakhs, lances) along side with the custom greatsword, so it would certainly wouldn't bring about RP awkwardness if random bystander decided to comment on one of my other weaponry instead. In the end, I do understand if it really pushes someones buttons a little too far and ends up alienating me from a number individuals. I can at least take pride that there are some individuals here that are willing to RP with me in light of my abnormal character decisions; and that's something I can live with.

 

Well that was a lot . . . soo obligatory TL;DR : I like greatswords, its what my character was designed around. I'd like for said greatsword to appear in his early history for bonding purposes. Its origin may be garlean and may have the gun- attachment that I'm not too crazy about. I will take great care into ensuring it has the proper drawbacks to its already perceived advantages such as no action traits or class support. And I believe I can combat the negatives presented in this thread of custom weaponry and calmly adapt to the situation if it proves hazardous in RP.

 

Really, thanks again for all of these replies.

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